Saw it yesterday, I’d give it a 9/10. Beautiful visuals, awesome characters, and an engaging, detailed story. I particularly liked the combination of camp and nihilism, especially the comic-like portrayals of public figures. Didn’t even notice the slo-mo action, it all seemed fluid.
Only three small complaints though—
1) Scene by scene the movie is perfect, but the pacing between the events prevents an emotional climax where it is needed in several places.
2) The soundtrack could have been more original. I liked the use of Philip Glass/Koyannisqatsi though.
3) Anti-Americanism goes with the territory with this kind of movie. But the green Kool-Aid about free energy— the writers must know nothing about physics (conservation of energy, thermodynamics) along with economics (opportunity costs, economies of scale, etc). This stuff made me cringe, not the buckets of blood.
Considering when this was written, the gas crunch of the late '70s would have been still clear in everyones mind.
The idea is that John breaks the rules. Things that used to be impossible, aren't any more. This scares the bejeebers out of most folks.